Rice Cake in Tet Holiday
Emperor Hung-Vuong had many sons who engaged in either literary careers or martial arts. The youngest son Tiet-Lieu didn’t like either of these and instead him, his wife and their children became farmers. One day toward the end of the year, the emperor met with all of his sons as told them that whoever brought back the most “special” and “unusual” food would be made the new emperor. Some sons went hunting and fishing in rough seas and violent weather. Tiet-Lieu went back to his farm and saw rice of his that was ripe and ready to be harvested. He picked golden grains on a long stalk and could smell a “delicate aroma.” Tiet-Lieu’s entire family was then sent out to harvest the rice, while he ground the rice into flour. His wife mixed it with mater into a soft paste. His children built a fire and wrapped the rice cakes with leaves. Before they knew it, they had finished. They had made two kinds of cakes. One of them was round, called “banh day” and the other was square, called “banh chung”. One the first day of spring, the princes took their food to the emperor. On had a dish of steamed fish and mushroom and the other had a roasted peacock and some lobsters. All of this food was beautifully cooked. When it was Tiet-Lieu’s turn, he presented the “banh chung” and his wife presented “banh day” to the emperor. Seeing Tiet-Lieu's simple offerings, other princes sneered at them. But after tasting all the food brought to court by his sons, the emperor decided that the first prize should be awarded to Tiet-Lieu. The emperor said that the youngest son’s gift were the purest and the most meaningful because Tiet-Lieu had nothing except rice, which is the only food some people had an abundance of. The emperor gave up the throne and made Tiet-Lieu the new emperor. All of the other princes bowed to show respect and congratulated their brother, the new emperor.
“Rice cake "(or Banh Chung) and Banh Day are two types of delicacies which are very popular with the Vietnamese people. Banh Day is served regularly at festivals and ceremonies. It is a rounded, convex cake of glutinous or nep rice, which resembles white dough, soft and sticky. Its cupola-shaped top is said to resemble the shape of the heavenly vault. Banh Chung is served particularly at Vietnamese New Year's festival, which occurs during the first three days of the first month of the lunar calendar. It is a square cake, wrapped in banana leaves and tied with lacings of flexible bamboo slivers. It is a very rich food for the interior contains a filling of bean paste to which may be added small bits of pork meat, both fat and lean. This filling, which is amply seasoned, is pressed between layers of glutinous rice. Its square shape is considered a symbol of the thankfulness of the Vietnamese people for the great abundance of the Earth, which has supplied them with nutritious food throughout the four seasons of the year.”
The Moon Boy
A long time ago there was a clever boy name Cuoi. The only thing he did with his cleverness was play tricks on other people around him. He lived with his aunt and uncle and tricked them a lot. One day, Cuoi went to the field to tell his uncle that his wife had fallen from a ladder and was bleeding. The uncle was so scared that he ran straight back to the house without saying a word. Cuoi also ran back to the house but got their quicker because of a short cut he knew. Before his uncle got back he told his aunt that her husband was hit by a buffalo and was probably going to die. The wife was so scared and ran out to the field right away. On her way, she suddenly bumped into someone who she realized was her husband, who was panting and sweating just like her. The aunt and uncle came back and decided to put Cuoi into a bamboo cage and send him down the river. When Cuoi was being carried to the river, he apologized and asked them to bring back a book from home that was hidden behind the basket of rice. The book would help him with his lying problem. The aunt and uncle agreed and took him home. After that, Cuoi saw a blind man pass by and asked him to untie the cage, and in return Cuoi would help him see again. Cuoi was then free and hid in a bamboo grave and found a jar of gold. He went back to his aunt and uncle and gave them the jar of gold as an apology, while the blind man was waiting for his eyes to be treated. Later in Cuoi’s life, he married a girl in his village and continued to trick people. One morning, Cuoi was in the forest and saw a tiger mother picking leaves from a certain kind of tree to cure her son’s wound. Immediately the wound was recovered and the tiger baby was able to walk again to continue the trip with his mother. Cuoi then uprooted the tree and put it in the garden behind his house. The called the tree Banyan and took very good care of it. He would always remind his wife that the tree was magic so they couldn’t pour dirty water or dump the garbage at its roots otherwise it would fly to heaven. His wife sometimes envied the tree so she dumped garbage on the tree’s roots one day. When Cuoi came home he found the tree shaking and flying higher and higher in the sky. He tried to pull it back down by holding onto the tree’s roots but it didn’t’ work. The tree ended up pulling him up higher and higher until he reached the moon. “It is said that there is still image of Cuoi sitting at the root of the Banyan tree and looking down to see the world. There is also a Vietnamese saying that says ‘lie as Cuoi,’” saying that you are a liar.
The Legend of the Milky Way
There once was a beautiful and charming princess names Chuc-Nu who was one of many daughters of the King of Heaven. She was a very hard worker and was often seen sitting on the shore of the Silver River sewing clothes for her younger sisters. One day while she was at the river, a man herded his buffalo to the river. His name was Nguu-Lang. He was very handsome and fell in love with the princess at first sight. She even loved him too. The King of Heaven, fully aware of their love, consented for his daughter to marry Nguu-Lang only if the couple would promise to continue their work after the marriage. Well, they enjoyed being married so much that they forgot their promise. The King was then furious and ordered them to separate. He said that they had to live in different sides of the river and were only allowed to see each other from across the river. The King allowed them to meet once a year in the seventh month of the lunar year. This certain month is called “The Month of Sudden and Short Showers.” Whenever they would meet, they would usually cry for joy and then cry again when it was time for them to separate. This is why it rains torrentially at the beginning of the seventh lunar month in Vietnam. During this month, don’t expect to find any ravens because it is believed that they have flown to the sky to help carry the bridge across the river for the reunion of Chuc-Nu and Nguu-Lang. If you look at the sky on clear nights during this month, you might see the Silver River which looks like a long milky white strip and therefore it is called “Ngan ha”.
[All of this information is taken directly from...
http://acad.depauw.edu/~mkfinney/teaching/Com227/culturalportfolios/VIETNAM/VIETNAM/myths.html]
Emperor Hung-Vuong had many sons who engaged in either literary careers or martial arts. The youngest son Tiet-Lieu didn’t like either of these and instead him, his wife and their children became farmers. One day toward the end of the year, the emperor met with all of his sons as told them that whoever brought back the most “special” and “unusual” food would be made the new emperor. Some sons went hunting and fishing in rough seas and violent weather. Tiet-Lieu went back to his farm and saw rice of his that was ripe and ready to be harvested. He picked golden grains on a long stalk and could smell a “delicate aroma.” Tiet-Lieu’s entire family was then sent out to harvest the rice, while he ground the rice into flour. His wife mixed it with mater into a soft paste. His children built a fire and wrapped the rice cakes with leaves. Before they knew it, they had finished. They had made two kinds of cakes. One of them was round, called “banh day” and the other was square, called “banh chung”. One the first day of spring, the princes took their food to the emperor. On had a dish of steamed fish and mushroom and the other had a roasted peacock and some lobsters. All of this food was beautifully cooked. When it was Tiet-Lieu’s turn, he presented the “banh chung” and his wife presented “banh day” to the emperor. Seeing Tiet-Lieu's simple offerings, other princes sneered at them. But after tasting all the food brought to court by his sons, the emperor decided that the first prize should be awarded to Tiet-Lieu. The emperor said that the youngest son’s gift were the purest and the most meaningful because Tiet-Lieu had nothing except rice, which is the only food some people had an abundance of. The emperor gave up the throne and made Tiet-Lieu the new emperor. All of the other princes bowed to show respect and congratulated their brother, the new emperor.
“Rice cake "(or Banh Chung) and Banh Day are two types of delicacies which are very popular with the Vietnamese people. Banh Day is served regularly at festivals and ceremonies. It is a rounded, convex cake of glutinous or nep rice, which resembles white dough, soft and sticky. Its cupola-shaped top is said to resemble the shape of the heavenly vault. Banh Chung is served particularly at Vietnamese New Year's festival, which occurs during the first three days of the first month of the lunar calendar. It is a square cake, wrapped in banana leaves and tied with lacings of flexible bamboo slivers. It is a very rich food for the interior contains a filling of bean paste to which may be added small bits of pork meat, both fat and lean. This filling, which is amply seasoned, is pressed between layers of glutinous rice. Its square shape is considered a symbol of the thankfulness of the Vietnamese people for the great abundance of the Earth, which has supplied them with nutritious food throughout the four seasons of the year.”
The Moon Boy
A long time ago there was a clever boy name Cuoi. The only thing he did with his cleverness was play tricks on other people around him. He lived with his aunt and uncle and tricked them a lot. One day, Cuoi went to the field to tell his uncle that his wife had fallen from a ladder and was bleeding. The uncle was so scared that he ran straight back to the house without saying a word. Cuoi also ran back to the house but got their quicker because of a short cut he knew. Before his uncle got back he told his aunt that her husband was hit by a buffalo and was probably going to die. The wife was so scared and ran out to the field right away. On her way, she suddenly bumped into someone who she realized was her husband, who was panting and sweating just like her. The aunt and uncle came back and decided to put Cuoi into a bamboo cage and send him down the river. When Cuoi was being carried to the river, he apologized and asked them to bring back a book from home that was hidden behind the basket of rice. The book would help him with his lying problem. The aunt and uncle agreed and took him home. After that, Cuoi saw a blind man pass by and asked him to untie the cage, and in return Cuoi would help him see again. Cuoi was then free and hid in a bamboo grave and found a jar of gold. He went back to his aunt and uncle and gave them the jar of gold as an apology, while the blind man was waiting for his eyes to be treated. Later in Cuoi’s life, he married a girl in his village and continued to trick people. One morning, Cuoi was in the forest and saw a tiger mother picking leaves from a certain kind of tree to cure her son’s wound. Immediately the wound was recovered and the tiger baby was able to walk again to continue the trip with his mother. Cuoi then uprooted the tree and put it in the garden behind his house. The called the tree Banyan and took very good care of it. He would always remind his wife that the tree was magic so they couldn’t pour dirty water or dump the garbage at its roots otherwise it would fly to heaven. His wife sometimes envied the tree so she dumped garbage on the tree’s roots one day. When Cuoi came home he found the tree shaking and flying higher and higher in the sky. He tried to pull it back down by holding onto the tree’s roots but it didn’t’ work. The tree ended up pulling him up higher and higher until he reached the moon. “It is said that there is still image of Cuoi sitting at the root of the Banyan tree and looking down to see the world. There is also a Vietnamese saying that says ‘lie as Cuoi,’” saying that you are a liar.
The Legend of the Milky Way
There once was a beautiful and charming princess names Chuc-Nu who was one of many daughters of the King of Heaven. She was a very hard worker and was often seen sitting on the shore of the Silver River sewing clothes for her younger sisters. One day while she was at the river, a man herded his buffalo to the river. His name was Nguu-Lang. He was very handsome and fell in love with the princess at first sight. She even loved him too. The King of Heaven, fully aware of their love, consented for his daughter to marry Nguu-Lang only if the couple would promise to continue their work after the marriage. Well, they enjoyed being married so much that they forgot their promise. The King was then furious and ordered them to separate. He said that they had to live in different sides of the river and were only allowed to see each other from across the river. The King allowed them to meet once a year in the seventh month of the lunar year. This certain month is called “The Month of Sudden and Short Showers.” Whenever they would meet, they would usually cry for joy and then cry again when it was time for them to separate. This is why it rains torrentially at the beginning of the seventh lunar month in Vietnam. During this month, don’t expect to find any ravens because it is believed that they have flown to the sky to help carry the bridge across the river for the reunion of Chuc-Nu and Nguu-Lang. If you look at the sky on clear nights during this month, you might see the Silver River which looks like a long milky white strip and therefore it is called “Ngan ha”.
[All of this information is taken directly from...
http://acad.depauw.edu/~mkfinney/teaching/Com227/culturalportfolios/VIETNAM/VIETNAM/myths.html]